Spring!

We are so lovin' this warm weather! 

And the only thing better than playing barefoot on the slide is......

....is getting your big sister to slide with you!

Creative

So I am cleaning the kitchen up yesterday and Sydney comes up behind me and me with a piece of toilet paper about 18 inches long.  She wants me to tie it around her stomach. 

OK, there you go, and she takes off like lightning.

A few minutes later, I realize she is being really quiet.

I call for her.

And here she comes.....

She cracks me up!!!

And speaking of crack, you should've seen the view from the rear!!!

 

Family Day

Today marks 2 years that Sydney has been in our family.  I must admit I am a bit weepy about it.  Looking back at these pictures makes me sad for how small and under-developed she was.  She was so tiny!  Now we understand how she really was a 22 month old infant.  But we were quite unprepared for that at the time.  I am not sure one can ever be prepared for something like that.  She was so malnurished.  She could barely walk.  She had never had solid food and when we tried to feed her, she would just move the food around in her mouth and give it back to us.  She literally did not know how to eat.  She had very thin hair and no muscle tone whatsoever.  She hid her face with her hands for a long time and just could not look at us.  It was utterly heart breaking. 

She has made so much progress, and yet has so far to go.  She still cannot sleep through the night without waking 1-3 times yelling for me.  She does it in a way that seems like she doubts that I will come.  She has that fear still.  We still cannot leave her with a sitter without it triggering fits, tantrums, and sleeplessness for several weeks afterwards.  She needs ALOT  of one on one attention, and if she doesn't get it, we get fits, tantrums, and slepplessness.  At almost four years old now, I would classify her as a 2 year old. 

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.  In a heartbeat.

I would not go back and change a thing.  She is my daughter, through and through.  I love her with every fiber of my being.  She has stretched me to lengths that I did not think possible.  And she has made me into someone that I could not have been without her. 

Thank you, God, for this beautiful gift of adoption.  Thank you for creating this child to be born on the other side of the world in order to journey all the way to my arms.  I will forever be in awe of your love for us. 

Things are slowly returning to normal around here.  Well, as normal as it ever was.  Sydney is finally starting to sleep again.  That alone is enough to make Mommy sing praises.  It is amazing what a little sleep will do for this old body.  Getting up 5

(did ya hear me -5!)

times a night is a bit rough.  Makes me a little bit loopier than normal.  She is eating better, although still won't bite off anything.  I think she is afraid that it will hurt, more so than it is actually hurting.  She is a survivor for sure. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight marks the last regular season Varsity basketball game for Ashlyn.  All that is left is districts, which is played over the course of 7 days at a school 2 1/2 hours away. 

Nice.

And get this, the name of the town is Dora.  Trying explaining to a over-stressed 3 year old that we are going to Dora, but not her Dora from TV.  I can tell you right now that when we walk into Dora's gym and all she sees is another basketball game, she's not gonna be too happy.

And lest you think we are looking at a break in ball games, Sarah's first Jr High volleyball games is March 8!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are currently waiting on our I-800 provisional approval for Abbey...  

....then NCV cables us to Guanzhou...

....then Article 5 is issued...

....then TA is issued...

....then we can travel.

Estimated travel dates according to agency's average time frame: May 1- June 1.

Estimated travel dates according to R*Q's average time frame:  April 28.

With March right around the corner, (where did February go?), it is getting closer at an alarming speed.  Our finances are not where we had hoped.  We are construction and it is winter, ya know.  We have applied for several grants that I am really hoping come through.  We are also planning a yard sale to help our finances and to clear out some junk.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out where all this STUFF comes from.  It seems like I am constantly trying to purge closets.  I especially need to work in Sarah's room to get it ready for Abbey to share.  Her closet is packed with clothes that are not worn at all.  She could furnish an entire sale with her closet alone!  But when I look at the calendar, the next available date is April 3rd, which is Easter weekend.  Then the 10th is open too.  That is a little closer to travel than I would have liked.  I will contunue to trust that God will bring us to where we need to be to travel.  But I will also confess that I am getting a little nervous.  I know I will feel better when we file our '09 taxes, as we expect a refund.  I think the stresses of the last few weeks are getting me jumpy, and I need to relax in Jesus.....

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:13a,14)

DO NOT BE AFRAID, FOR I AM WITH YOU;  I WILL BRING YOU CHILDREN FROM THE EAST AND GATHER YOU FROM THE WEST.

(Isaiah 43: 5)    

Hard

So Sydney had her surgery to correct the decay on her teeth. 

How did it go? 

NOT. WELL.

We were supposed to just fill the cavities she had and be done.  Simple, right?  It turned into me wanting to smack the over-eager-doctor-wanting-to-create-perfection-in-the-mouth-of-a-3-year-old.  The first trip the nurse made out to talk to us was to tell us that they had no choice, they had had to extract one of her upper teeth.

 

Say what?!?!?!?

It went downhill from there.

Syd was supposed to be in surgery for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and at 3 1/2 hours into it, they actually came out and asked us, "Since we cannot get the 2 front upper teeth perfectly white because of all the bleeding, wouldn't you rather us extract them?"

Insert mommy getting hysterical here.

And to top it all off, the doctor pranced out afterwards to give us a lengthy and snotty speech about how children need to have their teeth brushed.

Ahem.

I gently reminded her of Sydney's very malnutritioned condition at 2 years old when we adopted her from China. 

Her response?  "China?"

She had no recollection whatsoever of Sydney's history, which she herself had told us had contributed to the dental condition.

Needless to say, it was a nightmare from beginning to end.  She did briefly warn us that Syd may have some "ulcer-like problems in the corner of her mouth from keeping her mouth open so long".  In reality, the instrument they used to hold her mouth open during surgery was too big and since the surgery lasted 2 hours longer than planned, both sides of Sydney's mouth split about 1/4 inch.

Oh I could go on and on.......

Here we are 8 days post-op and this is the first day Sydney has been at all like herself.

She has not slept through the night yet.  She is up 3-5 times a night screaming for mommy.

She has asked a thousand times who gave her the boo-boos on her mouth.

She did not go off of pain relievers for the first 6 days.

I had to coat her lips and sides of her mouth with petroleum jelly every 15 minutes or so or she would scream that it hurt. 

She could not eat anything with any substance to it at all for the first 5 days, and even now cannot bite anything off (even something as soft as a boiled hotdog).

She could barely open her mouth wide enough to put a spoonful of soup in.

She sat and looked in the mirror and cried over how she looked.

It has been a nightmare.  Worse than that, it has been a nightmare that we agreed to put her though.  I know that hindsight is 20/20, but right now I am kicking myself that I even agreed to the surgery in the first place.  Our regular dentist thought it was borderline whether or not he would even fix it or just leave it alone since they are all baby teeth.  Oh how I wish I would have just left it alone.

I know that she had some decay, but this is so much worse.

It feels like we put a cast on a papercut!

Hmmmm.....

So I made Sydney an appointment with a pediatric dental specialist back in October for the first of November.  She had visited our regular dentist and, as we knew, had several places of decay.  Our dentist said that he would feel better if we took her to this specialist because he was indecisive as to whether to fix them of leave them alone.

 

As you know in November, WE WON STATE! 

We had to rescedule for late November. 

Then we came down with the flu. 

Reschedule again for mid-December.

Doctor came down with the flu.

Reschedule again for early January.

Doctor sick with virus & fever. 

Rescedule again for today.

Doctor just called........1 assistant is in hospital, another one is out sick, and....

get this...

the office manager's house burned last night and they lost everything!

Reschedule again for late January......

I am started to wonder if my entire family should go into hiding on the days leading up to the next appointment......

May Need Backup

Ever feel like you're losing the battle?

~sigh~

The Angry Princess

Once upon a time there was a self-proclaimed Princess of the Woods.  She loved to spend hours coloring herself with ink pens.  This did not make the Royal Giver of the Bath happy, since said Giver was too old to be bending over scrubbing like a maniac to get the stupid ink off of her worried about the Princess's image.  When faced with this difference of opinion, the Princess stormed out of the main quarters and fled to her chambers to find comfort in the solitude of her closet.

The whole kingdom held it's breath as the Princess tried to whine her way into getting her way handle the stress that was pressing down on her.

In her fragile and desperate state, she thought she would close the doors forever.

But then a ray of light surfaced across the plains when the Princess noticed something a few feet away!

Could it really be?

She had to get closer to see if it really was......

A LADYBUG!  She couldn't believe it was right by her royal hand!

Her spirits lifted!  She felt peaceful.....

The kingdom rejoiced that the drama was over....

.....for now....

My girly tomboy

Sydney is such a sweet tomboy. 

She loves climbing and hiding. 

She love bugs and cannot keep her hands off of them. 

She let them crawl all over her arms, it just grosses me out. 

But she is also a girly girl who loves to dress up.  She is always wearing princess dresses and tutus and swimsuits! 

At church this past Sunday, she received a makeup/nail polish set as a reward for attendance. 

She painted her nails and all the other girls in the youth group too. 

She even painted mommy's! 

So cute!

~sigh~

Talk about top of the mountain to down in the valley. 

We left Kansas City on top of the world.  We had won the state title and could not be happier.  We traveled out of downtown KC and stopped to get something to eat.  We all felt fine and enjoyed a victory dinner with the team. 

Three hours later, Sarah was sick with chills, cough, and congestion.  By the next day, her fever went over 103 and we were in the ER.  She was diagnosed with Type A flu that had already settled into her lungs forming a nice case of bronchitis.  Nice.  We got home from the ER and pharmacy at 3am Monday morning.  At 3:15am Sydney woke up with a cough and congestion.  By 6am her fever hit 103.8!  Off the the dr we went with her.  Yup, flu.  Thankfully our doc prescribed T*miflu for all of us.  So hopefully if the rest of us get it, it will be a mild case. 

~sigh~

Where' s Sydney?

I bet I say those two words twenty times each day.  Our little busy baby is always into something.  As a general rule:  if we can hear her, she's fine;  if she's quiet, you better start hunting her.  She is such a curious child and loves to get into everything in the house, causing mommy to run for the hair dye explore.  Case in point, we were getting ready for bed the other night, and I realized a certain quietness.  "Where's Sydney?"  We didn't see her but did see the couch cushions were all off the couch again and all unzipped again (hair dye).

However, upon closer inspection, I found this:

Sound asleep inside the couch cushion. ~sigh~

And just so you don't think that my other two girls are innocent bystanders:

Ashlyn walked in with this very innocent look on her face.

Where's Sydney?

They are nuts!

One year....

Can it really be that my baby has been home one year? One year ago, we stood in a stuffy room with several others and chaotically received one of the biggest gifts of our life. That gift came to us in a very loud package. She grieved hard and fast and loud for the first 24 hours. Then it was as if she said, "OK, I'm in." Even after a year, I do not believe that I fully comprehend what all God is revealing to me through Sydney. He has taught me that:

~He knows me

~He knows my dreams and desires better than I do

~His plan for my life is what I want

~When I let go of control, that is when things are good

~I can not create anything that compares to what He has for me

~I do not need to be understood by the world

~I can depend on Him to walk me through uncertain areas

~The things of God are the only things worth pursuing

~Nothing is impossible with him

~His timing is perfect

~His love is perfect and personal and individual

~He hears every word I say to Him

~Even when I reject Him, He loves me

~Even when I complicate things, He still wants me

~He has a plan for my life

All these lessons came as a beautiful gift. I will forever praise You for leading our family down this road. When I stop to think about how scared we were and how misunderstood we were, I gasp. Usually in my life, I would have backed out when face with all that fear and confusion. I easily could have missed this. Thank You for leading and entrusting and guiding and pushing me to go forward. I will forever praise You for this:

Things are seriously moving now!

It's all set. We head to China in 7 days. We fly out of STL at 10:10am on March 11th and return at 4:45pm on March 28th! We will finally get to hold our sweet baby on March 17th. Oh the thoughts, feelings, questions, and concerns swirling around in my head right now. So much still to do. Did I fill out the last paperwork correctly? Do I have enough suitcases? Do I have the right size clothes for her? Do I have the weather appropriate clothes for her? Will Sarah stay healthy? Will Wayne and I be able to get thru this without killing each other?! Will she like us? Will she cry for 1 day or 29? Will the girls like her? I have questioned every purchase I have made, from bottles to carseat. I have sat up hours at night wondering about her.....and whether or not I can handle a baby at 36 years old. I was 21 and 24 with my girls, and I definately feel quite abit older now. Not to mention abit heavier! Will my back be able to handle carrying a child. Will Sydney be sick when we get her? Did I buy the right travel meds for her? You would think I was a first time parent! ..........breathe.......... "For I know the plans I have for you" I know He loves me and I know that He knows the answers to these questions. There is no way that I could be totally prepared for everything that I will encounter. And I would never want to go on my own strength and knowledge. Jesus paved this path for me and I will be faithful to follow it. I could have never done something this incredibly wonderful on my own. I never could have made this happpen in my life. I could never have felt this love for a child I have never met. Only the one who created me could do this. Only the One......

WE GOT TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been stalking my email for my TA. When I am out, I use my iPhone to check it. I have been going a little batty about it. I just kept remembering how long we waited for our LOA. We must have set a record. Anyway, we were out of the house from 8am-11pm yesterday. I checked my email all day. On Rumor Queen, tons of TAs arrived. All of them with my dates. When we got home I was kind of bummed. Wayne goes and checks his email for business stuff, and there it is! They have never sent anything to his address. Anyway, we got TA!!!!! We should get travel dates today or early next week! I hate to be pushy, but please God don't make me wait over the weekend!!!!

In other news, Ashlyn's basketball season is over. She played for first place in districts last night. The girls played so tough but were beat by Delta. We are such a young team. We have 8 players, 3 freshman and 5 juniors. Delta has 10 players, with 7 being seniors. On the up side, just wait until next year! We lose no players, and gain a year's worth of tough experience.

Sarah has started cheerleading. Her first game is Tuesday. She is doing pretty good with her costochondritis. She is only supposed to do the light stuff. She still has pain, but it is usually associated with her doing something she should not have done or missed meds. Yesterday, she wasn't able to do her part in her cheer at Ashlyn's pep rally. She said she could not do it because they didn't warm up, and during the first run-through, it hurt. When I asked what her part was, she said , "I do a handstand". (sigh) We will have to deal with that tonight.

Next up, travel dates..........

Report from Orphanage

We received a report from the orphanage on Sydney's development.

February 14, 2007
Hua Zhou City Social Welfare Institute

Update on Ji Xiang Shi’s Development

Ji Xiang Shi, female, has been cared in the orphanage together with other children. Affected by the continuous cold and rainy weather for over a month, the number of activities that Xiang Shi participated has been reduced comparatively, and there is not much change in her physical abilities. However, she still likes to play. When the nanny with whom she is familiar is waiting by her side, she will show her happy smile, and hope to be hugged. With her development, we find that she is more sociable and outgoing, and knows how to make the nannies happy. As to her language and mental development, she can still babble. She gets well with the other children in the room, and is a kind and lovely little girl who is loved by all.

Here are her current measurements: height (67.5 centimeters), weight (7.26 kilograms), head circumference (44 centimeters), chest circumference (42 centimeters), length of food (11.5 centimeters). She has 2 upper teeth and 2 lower teeth.

This child is outgoing. She presents as a kind and friendly child. She is not used to a strange environment and tends to cry and make troubles. When she is in the playroom, she likes to play in the group. Since she is not able to walk on her own, she often crawls to get the toys and play with others. She can stand only by holding to the supporting objects, such as the bed or toys. She is attentive to colorful and familiar musical toys, and is very happy when playing with them. She has fair skin, but since she often sucks her own hands, her face is chapped and cracked. We are using skin lotion on her face. With the arrival of warm weather, we believe that the situation of her face will turn better very quickly.

Her daily routine is normal. Our nannies feed her with milk paste along with some nutrient porridge every meal to enhance her absorption of the nutrition and help her development. Although the weather here is very cold recently, we use the heating system to keep the bedroom warm day and night to make sure that she has a sweet and sound sleep. She is wearing diapers. Her bowel movement and urinations are normal.

On the 29th day of last month, the adoptive family entrusted Hua Zhou City Bao Wei Hotel[1] to send a birthday cake for little Xiang Shi. We celebrated this happy day with the other children and the nannies in the orphanage. It seemed that little Shi Xiang knew that her Mom and Dad were welcoming her and looking forward to getting her; she played with the nannies all the time and smiled happily a lot. We wanted to send you the photos of her birthday celebration and of her daily life, but since we took these photos by using the disposable cameras, we will return the cameras at the adoption time. To meet the adoptive family’s needs, I am now enclosing 8 recent photos of little Xiang Shi in the playroom, hoping that these photos will bring happiness to the adoptive family.

Hua Zhou City Social Welfare Institute


[1] The cake company that Blessedkids.com uses has a network of companies to send cakes all over China. Hua Zhou City Bao Wei Hotel is in this network. – Note by Adele Hall


Oh how I want to go get her today! But I will wait until God's perfect time to snatch her up! Wayne and I laughed at the statement "She is not used to a strange environment and tends to cry and make troubles." We are bringing this child to the other side of the Earth! She might be making some troubles! So funny!

More later.....

Here she is.....

Here is our sweet girl. She is so beautiful. I cannot wait hold her. I want to cuddle her and rock her. I want to dress her up. I want to rock her to sleep. I want to wrap her up in a warm blanket. I want to tickle her. I want to hear her laugh. I want to see her personality develope. I want so many things for her. I cannot wait.

Still the same...

Oh yes, still no news on Sydney. She is still waiting for us. We are still waiting for her. Christmas came and went without her. It was not easy. I was so confident in my agency's statement that 12 weeks was the maximum wait for LOA. But today is 18 weeks. Today is day 126. The best and the worst part of life is how it just keeps going on regardless of circumstances. My arms ache to hold her. We were blessed with updated photos of her last week. However, she has lost most of her hair and she is much slimmer. The signs of malnutrition are apparent. Holt has agreed to "inquire on our LOA status". They've also sent some questions to the orphanage to try to get some answers to her condition. Although these pics were a blessing, they also were a very somber wake up call. My child is suffering. She is hungry and needy while we wait for a piece of paper. I really want to get angry and depressed over this. But I will not. I will not fall apart. I will not distrust God. I know he knows me. I know he loves me. I know he has a plan for Sydney and my family. I know that he is in control. I know that he is alive and working in this very moment. I will wait on the Lord and renew my strength daily. I have been taken to the Savior's feet many times during this wait. I am ashamed to say that I have not been the best example on how to do this. But my Jesus will not give up on me. He will gently teach me the same lesson over and over again until I get it. My flesh wants to tell me that he has forgot about me and my baby. Satan wants me to wallow in the "unfairness" of it all. But my soul will rejoice in the sorrow. I will come for you, baby, when my Jesus aranges it all. But don't you worry. He will also take care of you and protect you until the time we meet. He will never leave us or forsake us. His timing is perfect. He loves you more than I ever will. He knows all about you and what you need and he will be there for you. When the time is perfect, he will allow us to look into each others eyes and become a family. I love you, Sydney. I will be there soon......